The Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM, a budget-focused prime lens, is only suitable for use on APS-C dSLRs, but it could be a pretty good choice if you own a Sony APS-C body and don't want to spend too much money on a wide-angle prime lens. Let’s take a closer look.

As usual, we tested this 35 mm lens on many Sony Alpha cameras. On a Sony A580 camera body, for example, the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM lens showed a globally good performance from f/1.8 to f/5.6. The resolution is homogenous over the field of view at f/5.6 and f/8 — satisfactory for an APS-C lens.

Although vignetting is an important problem at f/1.8 and f/2, it disappears between f/2.8 and f/22. And there is only a negligible amount of distortion and chromatic aberration.

Conclusion

Some photographers may find the all-plastic construction of the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM somewhat off-putting (even the mount is plastic), along with its lack of direct manual focusing. Apart from these points, however, its performance is perfectly adequate for an inexpensive, light-weight lens.

Further readings for the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM: Test and review of an inexpensive Sony prime lens

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